Jennifer Hightower, EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Cox Enterprises

Receiving the Outstanding Leadership Award

Jennifer Hightower leads Cox’s legal function and serves as corporate secretary supporting the company’s board of directors. She is also the lead legal advisor on policy and strategic initiatives related to Cox’s lines of business. 

Prior to her time with Cox Enterprises, Hightower was the senior vice president and general counsel of law and policy for Cox Communications, where she oversaw Cox’s compliance, legal operations, regulatory and corporate government affairs. She joined Cox in 1997 as senior counsel and later was promoted to assistant general counsel, where she oversaw all transactional and operational legal support.  

Before joining Cox, she served in various legal positions at BellSouth Corporation, RaceTrac, Inc. and Drew, Eckl & Farnham.  

Hightower is the recipient of the Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT) Wonder Woman Award, Woman to Watch Award and Mentor of the Year Award, and she has been recognized as one of the most Influential Women in Cable and as a CableFax Top Lawyer multiple years in a row. Hightower has also been honored as the Top General Counsel of Large Departments by the American Corporate Counsel Association Chapter of Georgia, a Rising Georgia SuperStar Attorney and a “Georgia Super Lawyer.” 

Hightower is a member of the Emory Board of Visitors, the Emory Law School Advisory Board and the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. She is the past chair of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and past board member for YMCA Greater Atlanta and Covenant House of Georgia.   

She holds a law degree from the Emory University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. Hightower is also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Management Program and a graduate of the 2012 Leadership Atlanta class. 

Wab Kadaba, Chair, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton

Receiving the President's Award

In 2024, Wab Kadaba was named global chair of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, leading the technology-focused law firm with 670 attorneys in 22 offices worldwide. For more than 11 years, Wab served as the global chair of the Kilpatrick’s internationally recognized intellectual property department, leading a team of more than 300 attorneys in offices across the U.S. and Asia. Wab concentrates his practice on litigation related to intellectual property as well as strategy and management of intellectual property and technology issues; his experience in patent, trade dress, and trade secret litigation matters has involved technologies as diverse as software, telecommunications, e-commerce, medical devices, footwear, and chemical compositions.

Wab holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He received an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Throughout Wab’s career, he has made a commitment to being community leader and currently serves on the prestigious Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees and Fernbank Museum of Natural History as an Emeritus Trustee. He is involved in numerous legal industry organizations throughout Georgia and the country.

In 2024, Wab was named one of Atlanta’s “Most Admired CEOs” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and is annually named a member of the Atlanta Magazine “Atlanta 500” – a list highlighting the city’s most powerful and influential leaders. He is also a past recipient of the SABA “Cornerstone Award” and in 2025 proudly accepted the “SABA Law Firm of the Year Award” on behalf of the firm.  Each year, Wab is recognized among the world’s top-tier attorneys in the intellectual property arena by leading directories such as Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Managing IP, IAM Patent 1000, and Legal 500.

Kayla Chen, Senior Vice President, Wealth Strategist, Truist Wealth

Receiving the Rising Star Award

The Georgia AAPI Legislative Caucus, Legislators, The GA Senate and House of Rep.

Receiving the Community Champion Award

Bryan Ramos, Chief Judge of Brookhaven Municipal Court & Founder of Ramos Law

Receiving the Judge Alvin T. Wong Pioneer Award

Bryan Ramos serves as the Chief Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Brookhaven, where he has expanded the Court’s Indigent Defense Panel and language access policies to promote equal access to justice to all those before the Court.  Judge Ramos has also created the Court’s first “virtual appearance” program and has welcomed civil unions and marriage ceremonies to be conducted in his court at no charge.  Judge Ramos is the first-ever Filipino American male to be serve as a judge in the state of Georgia.  

Prior to being appointed to the bench in 2023, Mr. Ramos founded the Ramos Law Firm, a boutique firm specializing in the advancement of workers’ compensation matters.  From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Ramos served as local counsel to the General Motors Corporation before transitioning his practice to representing exclusively Georgia’s working class.  

Mr. Ramos was inducted into the national honorary College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in 2020.  He holds the highest-possible attorney rating for excellence and ethical standards as determined by Martindale Hubbell.  He has been an honoree of the Super Lawyer magazine since 2010, and he has been selected as one of its Top 100 Georgia Lawyers since 2020.

Within the community, Mr. Ramos serves as a regional governor for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, where he led the Southeastern lobbying effort responsible for securing the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino Veterans of World II.  He has also served as the Executive Secretary of the Georgia Advisory Council to the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the General Counsel to the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.  He also contributed to the governing boards of Asians Americans Advancing Justice; Filipino Young Leaders Program; and the Georgia Council for Recovery.  

In 2025, he served as the president of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, the largest Filipino American legal professional network in the United States.  He also received the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service, sponsored by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.  He was the proud recipient of the Han Choi - Mentor of the Year Award, given by the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA).  

Amara Walker

Gala 2026 Emcee 

Amara Walker is an Emmy-award winning journalist, who spent 11 years as a news anchor for CNN and CNN International.  During her time based at the network’s global headquarters in Atlanta, she led her team through countless major breaking news stories improvising for hours, during the fall of Syria’s Bashr al-Assad, the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, the car-ramming terror attacks in Europe, the Greek financial crisis, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war for which she was awarded an Emmy, and more.  Walker also reported from the scene of major stories including the 2021 Atlanta spa massacre and the subsequent outcry from the Asian-American community.  She was featured in the Hollywood Reporter and NPR for her authentic reporting style.  She was also part of the 2020 presidential election night team reporting on President Trump’s attacks against the Georgia Secretary of State. Her subsequent reports focused on the investigations into Trump’s phone call pressuring the Secretary to “find” more votes after his loss to Joe Biden. 

Walker is also a proud Celebrity Champion for the Alzheimer’s Association.